Yeah, I agree with NealH.

It could be a disc, but not in the way the chiro described it.

Chiropractic "medicine" has no scientific basis. Go see a spine surgeon. I had a similar thing, went to see a surgeon, got some MRI's and I see a few things that might be causing my problems. Hopefully won't need surgery any time soon, but I need to have a more focused approach to strengthening my core. She also gave me some new drugs to take next time I have an episode. Will go back again in about a year to make sure things aren't getting worse.

A chiro might get some things right, but not because of any science behind it. Your best bet is an MD followed possibly by a trained PT.

Good luck!

My normal routine in these situations, after that many days of hell, is getting some assistance while flat on the back to stretch out the hamstrings. It usually provides a release in the QL as well to at least get moving enough to go buy a gallon of IcyHot.

A muscle relaxant can also be of service here, just to get the edge off enough to let you actually recover. Everything is so guarded/tensed up that you can’t release from the position.

There’s a chance you’re on a nerve from having it pinched, or you’re sitting on a disc herniation that is causing the same effect. The latter is what laid me up last winter while moving some gym equipment out of our basement.

<pink> Perhaps we should get you some Pure Spectrum CBD lotion. </pink>

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

We are similar age and both doing tris a long time. I started in ‘86. My back would go out just as you describe but later in life hard to bounce back. I found Kelly Starrett’s couch stretch really helped plus other hip openers and glute activators to take load off back.

Here’s a clip and Starrett has own website and free YouTube’s too. You may not be ready for couch drill yet given your pain, but give it a look when feeling better.

https://www.menshealth.com/...27185/couch-stretch/


Ps maybe sitting on flights to IM Kona got those flexors tight causing pelvic tilt...pain

Welcome to the club.
Had similar problems about 4 yr ago. Days of crippling pain. My Dr. missed it. Chiro completely f’d up and made it worse. The PT literally put his figure on the problem and got me going again.
Point is to use the professionals. There was good reason to think each should have an answer and solution but only one did.

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Life is tough. But it's tougher when you're stupid. -John Wayne

Sorry to hear about the back pain. I had some pretty bad back pain last year right before race season, and missed the first half of the season. I couldn't run, had sharp pains on the bike, and swim was tough too. Even getting up could be excruciating
One thing was that everyone I asked about back pain had a different go to exercise/treatment to recommend (this or that stretch, this or that topical, this or that treatment). Everyone has had back pain. Just throwing all these recommendations at it though did nothing, but what finally ended up working well for my case (after trying all sorts of stuff), was simply focusing on extension. I did cobra pose/sloppy push ups regularly through the day, and tried to eliminate any forward flexion of low back. Sitting I used low back support, and bending I either squatted or used something to avoid flexing forward. Then slowly reintroducing flexion after a week or so until range of motion was back to normal
I've kept up regular extension exercises for the past year, and had no relapse, so it was something that worked well in my case.

It's ass end of the world (Australia) based, but this site was launched recently & might be helpful -: https://mybackpain.org.au

Back pain can be very tricky and like most things, typically asymptomatic despite MRI findings. Of course people only get an MRI when there is an issue and that is when they discover they have some disc issues. There is some school of thought that back pain is all stress-induced. I can say this, the body is complex, and removing stress is a good thing.

My own back issues started when my left glute / piriformis started to develop some issues. This then translated into an acute back throw out on the lower right back I have since reinjured it numerous times, most recently playing 2 on 2 hoops which I had't played in about 15 years. As an aside, I told the guys I didn't really want to play, just wanted to shoot, but they insisted saying they just wanted to get a workout. Oh they got a workout all right. Huffing and puffing in Florida summer, sweating like they would never believe.

But that aside, move as much possible (walking), swimming is great as well. Just hop in the water, don't bend down as you are probably too stiff. Once the pain and tightness has subsided try to do some more core exercises. Make sure you don't have any anterior pelvic tilt going on to excess as well. You could also explore traction at your Chiro as well.

In general the Chiro probably won't do much otherwise, but I like Chiros for the most part. Mine actually does a great job of listening to me about what is going on. I know you said heat is not working. Odd that ice is working. For me heat usually loosens things up quite nicely. On that note, I love my Thermotech Heating Pad. It is an outstanding heating pad.

Other than that when you are feeling better, let's go for a ride. Riding with ST buddies is always a good time!

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How are you feeling now?

I’ve had on/off excruciating back pain for about 4 years now ... went to get an MRI which showed tears and bulging discs but others have already said that some ppl have bulging discs but are asymptomatic.

After years of refusing to quit sports and take painkillers .. I’ve been on my best stretch yet (8 months pain free - woo hoo!) The largest contributing factor I realised was most likely stress as a hard training session didn’t affect my back, but a few very stressful days did.

Also, I worked on my core a lot. I promise you I’d have a 6 pack except for all the cakes and ice cream that I eat. Lots of yoga, planks .. when I can’t do yoga I use the 30 day plank challenge app. Sitting and not moving has aggravated it. When I feel another episode coming on .. I lighten my training but remain active. Roll the hell out of my glutes and do a lot of stretching particularly to open up the spine. In my opinion it’s muscular issue and a weakness on the one side.

You’re best off to see a doc first, esp to confirm that you don’t have degenerative disease then go from there .. I’ve gone to a few PTs but do my own thing .. so far so good .. good luck!!

So, my back has been barking at me the last couple of days. Just took a look and did this exercise this morning.

Holy shit. Immediate release on my back.

Thank you for this.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Glad it helped. Sitting tightens those hip flexors and puts your glutes to sleep. 3 minutes each side each day does a body good. Fire those glutes.

Strengthen core and explore other hip openers. Running & biking in same plane over and over really creates muscle imbalances which impacts discs, facets, nerves etc. and as we age they come to the fore. Plus in our youth we probably kept those imbalances at bay by playing multiple sports and different muscle use.

We are all a bit different but don’t give up in quest for relief. ReadyState and Upright Health are just a couple of websites that are good.

I wouldn't do that either.... surgeons do surgery.

E

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Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

I like this answer.

I get this once every two years or so. What seems to help functionality best is to relax, lie down, and use some heat along with anti-inflammatory or muscle relaxant. The nerve that is angered needs to be calmed.

E

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

Hopefully this doesn't get too long...

I'm coming up on two months of marked symptoms from nerve impingement in the left sciatic... Actually started in February, where I thought I'd pulled the left hamstring slipping on a frosty driveway. That hamstring kept feeling tight all through the summer, actually getting worse in spite of loads of stretching and massage. At the end of August I started a tae kwond do class with my daughter. In the second class we were running lines for warm-ups. I noticed my left foot was dragging after cutting back. Hmm... Then on the next repeat everything cut loose and I had pains down the entire back side of that leg. Chiro visits for two weeks with no relief, got an MRI.

The results (edited to just the "Impression"):

Impression:

1. Degenerative findings in the lumbar spine are discussed in detail level by level above (the detailed laminar analysis from T11-S1).
2. Moderate to large left subarticular disc extrusion at L5-S1 displaces the traversing left S1 nerve root.
3. Moderate size central disc extrusion at L1-L2 displaces the traversing right L2 nerve root and contributes to the mild spinal canal stenosis.
4. Small right subarticular/foraminal/extra foraminal disc protrusion at L2-L3 contacts the exiting right L2 nerve root and traversing right L3 nerve root.
5. Small central disc extrusion at L3-L4 approaches the traversing bilateral L4 nerve root without nerve root displacement, and contributes to mild spinal canal stenosis.
6. Multilevel moderate to severe neural formainal stenosis is worst at L4-L5 bilaterallly and L5-S1 on the left.

Officially, my lumbar spine is "messed up". I'm in PT now, two weeks, with basically no improvement (PT had expected some marked improvement after the first round of therapy). It's kind of a precursor to guided injections, which if any of this is effective, will buy me maybe 5 years. The only actual permanent cure is fusion. I've talked with several folks who have said that the L5-S1 fusion was the best thing they ever did, with immediate relief. While I don't relish the idea of the surgery and fairly lengthy recovery, I don't just want to kick the can down the road to where my ability to recover is further diminished.

I'm still able to ride, though it takes 15-20 minutes to loosen up, still able to do the TKD with no kicking drills.

So... TL:dr ==> pay attention to that hamstring tightness.

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Much like everyone else. I will start with I am not a doctor. But after breaking C4, 5, 6, 7 T1 and T3 (apparently my T2 is a boss) and having disc issues for 5 years. I feel like I am close when it comes to the back.
Every one has great advice here. One simple one I would add that one of the DR told me about is try to find a way to sleep with your hips dropped for 1 night. Imagine if you had a mattress that supported your back but had your butt 2-3 inches lower (you can do it with foam or pillows) His thinking was it provides a gentle stretch for a long period of time, when the body is relaxed and healing. I have never heard another doctor give this advice, so maybe he is a quack. But whenever my back gets tight I do this and it pretty much always works.

I’m measuring my progress based on pain and stiffness when getting up in the morning and when standing up from a seated position. Interestingly... and this may be TMI... but I was much better getting on and off the toilet today.

I have identified anterior pelvic tilt as a major contributor to my back discomfort. When standing if I deliberately correct my natural (bad habit) anterior pelvic tilt any discomfort or pain just disappear. I’ve spent the last two years working crazy hours which means a lot of sitting. Sitting while driving (50,000 miles), sitting in my car while waiting for someone, sitting on a plane, sitting at my desk.... so I’m confident that tight hip flexors and poor posture are at least part of the battle.

I have another appointment on Thursday morning and will update then. I’ll likely see a couple of other specialists as well in the next few weeks just to cover my bases.

Question on your last point: is riding ok to do? I haven’t tried yet. A few days ago swimming seemed impossible but now I’m tempted to get into the pool and try some vertical kicking while working on my posture (anterior pelvic tilt specifically).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkzFT6rRMhQ

Plus aforementioned above "couch stretch".

If your pain level permits

But they can also evaluate when surgery is or is not necessary.

Not TMI at all .. I know that exact feeling .. and getting out of the car .. the movement of going from sitting to standing is the absolute worst...

I’ve spent a week lying on the floor on several occasions as it gave me the most relief. Have you got a stand up desk at work? I can’t recommend it enough ..

I know others have mentioned it here but please only consider surgery as the very last resort ... it may require a bit of patience to finding then working on resolving the issue (bearing in mind that everyone has back pain for different reasons and there are so many different things that can be done ..)

 
First 40years as ortho PT Second 6 IM's : Suggestion: order and read Robin Mackensie's treat your own back. Then find a certified Mackensie PT to guide you through your focused rehabilitation. Lumbar Spine disc problems are a bugger and can be treated effectively if approached with the same discipline and dedication we all train with. Go for it

I suffered some years from LB pain. I tried many many things. The only thing that worked was a neurologic approach, IOW...I was experiencing pain but there was not a major injury that was related with that. I worked with a guy who guided me to reset. Many doctors look for injuries when a big percentage of us have bulged or proper disc herniation. So the brain says "oh, you have an injury and it will hurt". I started to do some training after years, little by little, but not stopping and I can say that now, I am painfree...
This could me more related to chronic pain, but if you are interested, take a look at any video of Lorimer Mosely in youtube.

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Spaniard. Sorry for my english for the sensitive ones :P

Yeah, I agree with this,

In my experience keeping moving is the best thing in this situation ( asuming no bulging ruptured discs etc but you'd know if they were as you'd likley nearly sh** yourself when you move). I fopund the best thing was streches, lots of them, like 3 times a day. one particular stretch that helped a lot was sort of downward dog, but against the back of a chair/railing so i would move my feet forward and put some tension/stretch into my back, a little like hanging from somthing by the arms.

+1

Motion is lotion in general. Hard to say on your specific case in regards to bike, I can't say I recommend it, swimming and walking are probably better. But the first time I hurt my bike was on a Monday and then I did a Sunday Ironman. I was actually fine on the bike, but noticed I was favoring some stuff on the run, causing some imbalances all over the place and I could feel it all tugging on my Achilles so I didn't complete the marathon. Hopefully your back is feeling better. Sorry for the delay. I switched my Slowtwitch notifications out of my Inbox a while back and I am no longer as good about replies.

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just to add -- you might want to consider getting a Swiss Ball and lying on it belly down, rolling very gently through all axes, finding space between the vertebrae.

This signals the back muscles to activate but the spine is completely supported, so the brain can ease into the idea of using them again.

Not a cure by any means but a way to treat an unhappy back.

Once it's a bit better you can gently work the psoas (if they're locked) by lying on your back, ankles on top of ball, and rolling in/out toward bum, single leg or at the same time.